, also known as ''Samurai Kid'', is a Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series produced by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...

. 65 episodes aired from 7 June 1964 until 31 August 1965. It tells the story of a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

's pupil that controlled the wind. It was based on the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

Sanpei Shirato , known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as the realism of his drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He was considered a pioneer of the controversial ''gekiga'' genre o ...

and was animated by

Yasuji Mori was an animator who worked with Toei Animation, while it was still known as Toei Doga. He was also a famous illustrator of children's books. Mori was responsible for one of the major animation styles within Toei Animation. In ''The Little Prince ...

and

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

. The anime was renamed "Kaze no Fujimaru" in order to associate it with its sponsor, Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals. The opening theme, 'Shōnen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru' and the closing theme, 'Tatakau Shōnen Ninja', were both performed by the . The series originally ended with a repeat of the opening; the separate ending song came later.

Plot summary

The story begins when Fujimaru is a little baby. His mother puts him in a basket while she works in the country. Suddenly, the baby is kidnapped by an eagle, but Sasuke, a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, recovers the baby and takes him as a disciple. Fujimaru grows until he becomes a gifted young man who can control the wind by learning

ninjutsu , sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some tradit ...

. He knows two strong techniques: 'multiplication' (which allows him to confuse his enemies by creating

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may o ...

s of himself) and 'leaves' (which helps him to run away behind a wind swirl). Fujimaru has two goals: to see his mother again and to find the 'Ryuen Book', a handwritten

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...

that contains great but dangerous techniques. Fujimaru's main enemy is Japusai, a master of fire techniques who is also searching for the parchment. In the end, Fujimaru attains both goals: he runs into his mother and finds the parchment, but he decides to destroy it because it would be too dangerous in Japusai's hands.

External links

*
Toei website about ''Fujimaru of the Wind''
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shonen Ninja Kaze No Fujimaru 1964 anime television series debuts 1965 Japanese television series endings Ninja in anime and manga Samurai in anime and manga Shōnen manga Toei Animation television